Episode 47. Master of the Jungle
How can I use Mystiltein to make my movements more concise?
I swung my sword with only that thought in mind. It didn’t matter whether there was one enemy running at me or ten.
‘Just cut it down.’
It wasn’t an opponent I couldn’t beat anyway.
If these people were humans, things would have been different, but the mutant ants that guard the entrance to the jungle are simple, ignorant monsters that only know how to go straight.
Kwasik!
After stabbing the shell of the nearest mutant Ant.
Flutter!
I cut off the head of the guy running towards me one after another.
Phew-.
Is it finally over?
The corpses of ants that filled the battlefield signaled the end of the fight. The scout ants that were sticking their faces out through the cracks in the ground disappeared.
‘I won.’
And that too perfectly.
“Wow!”
Cynthia’s party member, Piggy Head, cheered as he raised his sword above his head.
He looked like he couldn’t believe he had won this battle.
“Wow, I really thought I was going to die!”
Alfredo, a member of his party, responded by lightly patting his back.
“I knew I would win from the beginning.”
“You said earlier that we should run away secretly from Verdin, right?”
“W-what! “I just said I was tired and wanted to go for a walk.”
“Walking is a piece of cake! “Who goes to rest after a fight?”
Cynthia smiled at them and came next to me.
“great job.”
I answered, taking a cloth out of my pocket and wiping my sword.
Sigh-.
“Where are you injured?”
“doesn’t exist. you?”
“does not exist.”
The conversation was brief.
It was just about survival.
Cynthia nodded briefly and asked while looking at the corpse of the mutant Ant.
“What about devil horns?”
“found.”
“where?”
“It’s widespread.”
“It’s widespread?”
“okay. Hey Rox. “Show Cynthia the devil horns.”
Rox pulled out the fangs of the nearby Mutant Ant.
Crack.
“How many?”
“One is enough.”
“Uh oh, stay here.”
He handed the Mutant Ant’s fang to Cynthia. Cynthia asked me with a puzzled expression, raising her fangs.
“what’s this?”
“Devil’s horns.”
“Devil’s horns? this?”
Yes.
This is one of the ingredients needed for intermediate level alchemists to become advanced alchemists.
‘Devil’s horns.’
But very few people know how to get it.
This is because even if they arrive in the jungle, they do not encounter mutant ants or do not know that their fangs are devil horns.
“The alchemists of the past were mistaken by only looking at appearances. “Because it was such a difficult and amazing ingredient to obtain.”
“I… again.” . “I thought if I dealt with the ants, a devil would come out.”
“These guys used to be called devils.”
“really?”
“Yes, of course, only for adventurers who come to the tower. Even the ones flying and crawling outside are unprepared and there’s nothing we can do if they get ambushed by these guys.”
“ah… .”
“But that doesn’t mean it’s an enemy you can’t beat. Now we come as a small party. “Most of the time, when we visit the 11th floor, we come in numbers of about 15.”
Cynthia knows this too.
That’s why I hesitated about this operation.
“Has the request been completed?”
“yes.”
“So what should we do now?”
“I’m going down.”
“Go down?”
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“Yeah, I didn’t come to climb today anyway. “There’s no need to be here.”
We completed the Devil Horn Summoning quest without difficulty.
‘And we obtained not just one, but hundreds of materials.’
This ordeal not only opened a hidden piece, but also raised funds for Cynthia’s party to fight a proper battle.
* * *
We spent half a day dismembering the corpse of a mutant Ant to collect its devil horns.
Still, I thought it would end quickly since there were five party members, but I ended up spending too much time in the jungle.
“You will stay here tonight.”
I took a seat near the center of the jungle.
The door leading down was not far from here, but the jungle at night was too dangerous to move carelessly.
‘of course.’
I’m not saying that I will lose to the monsters here. However, another adventurer targeting an unexpected monster or adventurer.
You had to be careful because bounty hunters called ‘Taker’ were roaming around.
‘Even if I could run away.’
Because those guys still lack the skills to do that.
I put the Mutant Ant’s leg into the campfire.
A delicious smell began to rise along with the sound of crackling and sparks.
Huha- Huha-
Alfredo said, wiping away the sweat that had accumulated on his head with his palm.
“When can I eat?”
Rox answered, flipping over his ant legs.
“When it’s done. “Mutant Ant’s blood is mixed with poison, so if you don’t cook it properly, you’ll be in big trouble.”
“ah… .”
“Well, if you want to die, you can eat it. “Give me one?”
“Oh, no.”
Judas raised his glasses with his index finger and wrote something in his book.
“The Mutant Ant’s blood was mixed with poison… . okay. That’s why the blood splattered from the ants I was fighting with earlier paralyzed my skin.”
“Have you been thinking about that while fighting?”
“Yes, it may appear again while climbing the tower. “I can’t memorize all the characteristics of the monsters I’ve encountered so far, so I’m writing them down like this.”
“Well, it’s up to you to write down monster information. Next time, when the battle starts, don’t be alone doing something else.”
“Something else?”
“Yes, when I saw you behind Verdin earlier, you were hiding behind instead of fighting alone.”
“… … .”
“I participated in the battle only after the situation was somewhat settled.”
Judas answered by putting his hands behind his back and pulling his ponytail closer.
“I’m sorry for not explaining it to you in advance. Bae Hu-ryeong, who is with me, has abilities that can only be demonstrated by reading the battlefield. “I joined the battle a little late.”
“Are you saying it’s because of Bae Hu-ryeong?”
“yes.”
“What abilities do you have?”
“I’m sorry, but Bae Hu-ryeong’s abilities are not something that can be revealed so easily.”
Crack, crack.
I picked up an ant leg from the campfire and handed it to Judas.
“That’s right, Rox. “You shouldn’t talk about your abilities to others.”
“Thank you for your understanding.”
“What is gratitude? Eat it.”
“… yes.”
Rox nodded as if he understood what I meant and picked up a ripe ant leg.
“I made a mistake.”
“it could be. “Because this is your first time living with others.”
“… You seem to have become a bit gentler these days? In the past, if you made even the slightest mistake, you would be stung like a bee.”
“Do you want me to do that again?”
“no!”
“Then go ahead and eat. “After we finish eating, we have to stand guard and sleep in order.”
“Oh, yes.”
We all grabbed an ant’s leg one by one and started eating. In the meantime, I sharpened my blade against the aura that was spraying in all directions.
Someone is clearly watching us, but we don’t know who it is.
‘Is it one? No, at least two. It’s three or two, but it’s not exact.’
Plus one of them is incredibly strong. It was expected that he would be stronger than me now or have a similar level of power.
‘Who the hell is it?’
They’ve been watching since we dealt with the mutant Ants.
If he came a little closer, he would be able to pinpoint his exact location, but his ability to keep his distance so as not to be detected was amazing.
Crack.
I chewed on an ant leg and looked at the jungle sky.
‘I hope it’s not that guy.’
Yuda was the first to finish his meal and spoke carefully.
“But Verdin.”
“say.”
“Why do you want to climb the tower?”
“reason?”
“Uh, reason. Your family is so honorable and wealthy that it is ranked among the top five on the continent. “I wonder if there is any need to climb the tower at that age.”
Well, it may seem that way to other people’s eyes.
“If you want to become stronger, it would be much safer to go to the academy or lead your knights to the dungeon. “Why do you have to come to the tower?”
I answered by drawing a dragon on the palm of my hand with Aura.
“Dragon.”
“Dragon?”
“Yes, I came to kill the dragon.”
There were no lies.
Because I’m really climbing the tower to catch the dragon.
Of course, growth is also an important reason, but since growth will end in the process of getting to where he is, it cannot be said to be the main goal.
“That’s cool. Climb the tower to kill the dragon!”
Cynthia, who was looking between the two of us, continued speaking.
“Then what about you?”
“me?”
“Yes, we have been together until now. “I’ve never heard a reason for climbing the tower.”
Judah scratched the back of his head with an embarrassed expression.
“What am I…” . “I came to find my family.”
“family?”
“Yes, I was raised in an orphanage without a family when I was young. “When I grew up, I heard from the director and he said that my parents live in the tower.”
“Where is the tower?”
“I don’t know that either. “Well, if you keep climbing like this, you won’t find it someday, right?”
There was no Judas in my past life.
At that time, Cynthia’s party had already been destroyed.
So I was not aware of this situation.
‘You came to the tower to find your parents?’
I looked Judas up and down closely. Unless you are an adventurer climbing the tower, there are no villages where humans live.
This is a fact I know because I have personally been to the upper floors.
‘Is this a lie?’
To be honest, to me, it only sounds like a story the orphanage director made up to give Yuda hope.
“I thought you climbed the tower for the money.”
“That is correct. “You can do anything if you have money.”
While listening to their stories.
Shock.
I quickly got up from my seat and drew my sword.
“It is the enemy.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Rox summoned Ant, a mutant made into a marionette.
Doo doo doo doo doo.
Cynthia also stood behind me, holding her sword tightly.
“enemy? “I don’t feel energetic.”
“It’s approaching, hiding its presence. The distance is approximately 300m in the east-west direction. “It will arrive soon.”
“How many?”
“one.”
“Are you strong?”
“strong.”
At least so much that even everyone here except me can’t win.
So that means I have no choice but to stop the enemy.
‘I wonder if my stamina will keep up with me.’
I haven’t yet recovered the auror I used to deal with the mutant Ant.
We all waited for the enemy in a tense state, ready for battle. And soon enough, the bushes shook and the enemy appeared.
Green onions!
Rox, who was sitting closest, jumped out first and swung his mace.
Boom.
“Where!”
After dodging Rox’s mace, the person wearing a red cloak grabbed his head and knocked him backwards.
thud!
“Wait a minute, stop! It’s me, it’s me. “It’s me, Monkle!”
fluttering.
Monkle raised both hands above his head and grinned.
* * *
I asked, handing Monkl a ripe ant leg.
“So, you’re saying the jungle apostle came all the way down here?”
“okay! Did I see it clearly? Earlier, when you guys were holding the mutant Ant. “It came close, then suddenly changed direction and went somewhere else.”
So, was the fierceness you felt when dealing with the mutant Ant his?
‘Hmm-.’
That doesn’t make sense.
The apostle, known as the master of the jungle, has come down to the lowest level.
The guy who is supposed to be in charge of the trials on the 20th floor is moving to another floor?
This was a story that made so much sense that it was hard to believe it until you saw it for yourself.
That’s the same as going against God’s will.
“Where did he go?”
“North.”
“North?”
“Yes, the guy suddenly turned and disappeared.”
I closed my eyes for a moment and thought about the past. Why did the Dead Lord appear on this floor? And why did Monkle come to visit us now?
If he had been watching me earlier and was trying to protect me from enemy threats, he would have appeared sooner.
“Monkle, let me ask you a question.”
“Yes, tell me.”
“What is the reason you came to see me now?”
“reason?”
“okay.”
Monkle rested his chin and thought for a moment, but then his smiling expression suddenly hardened and he took on a cold expression.
“To kill you.”
He then pulled out his sword and took off his cloak.
Swoosh, flutter.
“Because it doesn’t make sense to have two apostles in one trial.”
fantasy,
